材料

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材料 [2025/08/13 01:49] – created xiaoer材料 [Unknown date] (current) – removed - external edit (Unknown date) 127.0.0.1
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-====== cáiliào: 材料 - Material, Data, Stuff ====== +
-===== Quick Summary ===== +
-  * **Keywords:** 材料, cailiao, Chinese for material, Chinese for data, what does cailiao mean, Chinese word for stuff, raw material, ingredients, documents, application materials in Chinese, writing material, building material, HSK 3. +
-  * **Summary:** A comprehensive guide to the versatile Chinese word **材料 (cáiliào)**, which means "material," "data," or "stuff." This page explains how to use 材料 for physical objects like building supplies, informational items like application documents, and even to describe a person's character or potential. Learn its core meaning, cultural nuances, and see practical examples to master this essential HSK 3 vocabulary word. +
-===== Core Meaning ===== +
-  * **Pinyin (with tone marks):** cáiliào +
-  * **Part of Speech:** Noun +
-  * **HSK Level:** HSK 3 +
-  * **Concise Definition:** Material, data, or the necessary items for a task. +
-  * **In a Nutshell:** Think of **材料 (cáiliào)** as the "stuff" you need to make or do something. It's a wonderfully broad and practical word. If you're building a house, the 材料 are the wood, bricks, and concrete. If you're baking a cake, the 材料 are the flour, sugar, and eggs. If you're applying for a visa, the 材料 are your forms, photos, and passport copies. It covers both physical substances and abstract information required for a purpose. +
-===== Character Breakdown ===== +
-  * **材 (cái):** This character combines the "wood" radical 木 (mù) with the character 才 (cái), which means "talent" and also provides the sound. Originally referring to timber or wood, 材 expanded to mean "material" in general, as well as a person's innate "material" or talent. +
-  * **料 (liào):** This character shows 米 (mǐ), "rice," being measured by a 斗 (dǒu), a traditional grain measure. It originally meant "grain" or "fodder," but evolved to mean "ingredients," "stuff," or "material" for a specific purpose. +
-  * Together, **材料 (cáiliào)** literally means "timber-stuff" or "talent-ingredients." This combination creates a broad term for any kind of substance, data, or resource needed to create, build, or accomplish something. +
-===== Cultural Context and Significance ===== +
-The word **材料 (cáiliào)** is mostly a practical, direct term, but one of its uses reveals a common Chinese cultural perspective: assessing people. +
-In English, we might say someone is "not cut out for" a job. In Chinese, it's common to say someone "is" or "is not" the right **材料** for a role (e.g., 他是当老师的**材料**, "He is teacher material"). This reflects a view where people have certain innate qualities, talents, or a disposition that makes them suitable or unsuitable for specific paths. It's less about a temporary lack of skill and more about a fundamental match between a person's core nature and a position's demands. +
-This contrasts with a more Western emphasis on "you can be anything you want to be," which focuses on training and ambition over inherent "material." The Chinese usage of **材料** in this context hints at a more pragmatic, and sometimes deterministic, view of personal potential and social roles. It's not necessarily negative, but rather a way of evaluating suitability and fit. +
-===== Practical Usage in Modern China ===== +
-**材料 (cáiliào)** is an everyday word used in numerous contexts. Its meaning is always "the stuff needed for X." +
-==== 1. Physical Materials ==== +
-This is the most direct meaning. It's used for construction, manufacturing, cooking, and art. +
-  * Building: 建筑**材料** (jiànzhù cáiliào) - building materials +
-  * Cooking: 烹饪**材料** (pēngrèn cáiliào) or 食材 (shícái) - cooking ingredients +
-  * Clothing: 这件衣服的**材料**很好 (zhè jiàn yīfu de cáiliào hěn hǎo) - The material of this piece of clothing is very good. +
-==== 2. Information, Data, and Documents ==== +
-This is an extremely common usage in academic, business, and bureaucratic settings. +
-  * Application: 申请**材料** (shēnqǐng cáiliào) - application materials (for a school, visa, job) +
-  * Research: 我需要更多**材料**来写我的论文 (wǒ xūyào gèngduō cáiliào lái xiě wǒ de lùnwén) - I need more materials/sources to write my thesis. +
-  * Evidence: 警方正在寻找**材料** (jǐngfāng zhèngzài xúnzhǎo cáiliào) - The police are looking for material/evidence. +
-==== 3. A Person's Character or Potential ==== +
-This usage is more idiomatic and assesses a person's suitability for something. It's often used with "是/不是" (is/is not) and "块" (kuài), the measure word for pieces. +
-  * Positive: 他是当领导的**材料** (tā shì dāng lǐngdǎo de cáiliào) - He is leadership material. +
-  * Negative: 他不是块好**材料** (tā búshì kuài hǎo cáiliào) - He's not a good piece of material (i.e., he's a bad sort, not a good person). +
-===== Example Sentences ===== +
-  * **Example 1:** +
-    * 我们需要购买更多的建筑**材料**。 +
-    * Pinyin: Wǒmen xūyào gòumǎi gèng duō de jiànzhù **cáiliào**. +
-    * English: We need to buy more building materials. +
-    * Analysis: This is the most literal use of **材料**, referring to physical items for construction. +
-  * **Example 2:** +
-    * 你准备好申请大学的**材料**了吗？ +
-    * Pinyin: Nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎo shēnqǐng dàxué de **cáiliào** le ma? +
-    * English: Have you prepared the materials for your university application? +
-    * Analysis: Here, **材料** refers to documents like forms, essays, and recommendation letters. +
-  * **Example 3:** +
-    * 做这个蛋糕需要什么**材料**？ +
-    * Pinyin: Zuò zhège dàngāo xūyào shénme **cáiliào**? +
-    * English: What ingredients (materials) are needed to make this cake? +
-    * Analysis: While [[食材]] (shícái) is more specific, **材料** is commonly used for cooking ingredients in everyday conversation. +
-  * **Example 4:** +
-    * 我认为他不是当演员的**材料**。 +
-    * Pinyin: Wǒ rènwéi tā búshì dāng yǎnyuán de **cáiliào**. +
-    * English: I don't think he is actor material. +
-    * Analysis: A classic example of using **材料** to judge a person's innate suitability for a profession. +
-  * **Example 5:** +
-    * 这件衬衫的**材料**摸起来很舒服。 +
-    * Pinyin: Zhè jiàn chènshān de **cáiliào** mō qǐlái hěn shūfu. +
-    * English: The material of this shirt feels very comfortable to the touch. +
-    * Analysis: Refers to fabric or textile. +
-  * **Example 6:** +
-    * 老师把教学**材料**发给了每个学生。 +
-    * Pinyin: Lǎoshī bǎ jiàoxué **cáiliào** fā gěi le měi ge xuéshēng. +
-    * English: The teacher distributed the teaching materials to every student. +
-    * Analysis: Refers to handouts, worksheets, or digital files used for learning. +
-  * **Example 7:** +
-    * 为了写这份报告，我收集了很多**材料**。 +
-    * Pinyin: Wèile xiě zhè fèn bàogào, wǒ shōují le hěn duō **cáiliào**. +
-    * English: In order to write this report, I collected a lot of material/data. +
-    * Analysis: **材料** here means information, sources, data, and research findings. +
-  * **Example 8:** +
-    * 这种新**材料**又轻又坚固。 +
-    * Pinyin: Zhè zhǒng xīn **cáiliào** yòu qīng yòu jiāngù. +
-    * English: This new material is both light and strong. +
-    * Analysis: Used in a scientific or engineering context to describe a substance with specific properties. +
-  * **Example 9:** +
-    * 他这个人，真不是块好**材料**。 +
-    * Pinyin: Tā zhège rén, zhēn búshì kuài hǎo **cáiliào**. +
-    * English: This guy is really not a good piece of material. (He's a bad apple / not a good person.) +
-    * Analysis: A strongly negative judgment of someone's character. The measure word "块 (kuài)" is often used in this structure. +
-  * **Example 10:** +
-    * 你的写作**材料**都来自哪里？ +
-    * Pinyin: Nǐ de xiězuò **cáiliào** dōu láizì nǎlǐ? +
-    * English: Where do your writing materials (source materials) all come from? +
-    * Analysis: Used to ask about the sources or inspiration for a creative or academic work. +
-===== Nuances and Common Mistakes ===== +
-  * **材料 (cáiliào) vs. 资料 (zīliào):** This is a common point of confusion. +
-    * **材料 (cáiliào)** is broad. It can be physical (wood, metal) OR informational (data, documents). +
-    * **[[资料]] (zīliào)** is specific to **information**. It means data, documents, files, profiles. You can say application **材料**, but you can also say application **资料**. However, you cannot call wood and bricks **资料**. +
-    * Rule of thumb: All **资料** are a type of **材料**, but not all **材料** are **资料**. +
-  * **Don't use it for "Subject Matter":** A beginner might incorrectly say "My favorite material in school is history." (我最喜欢的**材料**是历史). This is wrong. For an academic subject, you must use **[[科目]] (kēmù)** or **[[学科]] (xuékē)**. **材料** refers to the things you //use// to study the subject (e.g., textbooks, articles). +
-  * **Over-specialization:** An English speaker might search for different words for "ingredient," "document," and "fabric." Remember that **材料** is an efficient, context-dependent word that can cover all three. Don't be afraid to use it broadly. +
-===== Related Terms and Concepts ===== +
-  * [[资料]] (zīliào) - Data, information, documents. A subset of **材料** that is purely informational. +
-  * [[原料]] (yuánliào) - Raw materials. Refers to unprocessed materials at the start of a production chain, like crude oil or iron ore. It's more specific than **材料**. +
-  * [[食材]] (shícái) - Food ingredients. The specific word for cooking materials. +
-  * [[文件]] (wénjiàn) - Document, file. A specific type of informational **材料**. +
-  * [[物质]] (wùzhì) - Matter, substance. A more scientific or philosophical term, referring to physical substance in general, as opposed to spirit or consciousness. +
-  * [[成分]] (chéngfèn) - Component, ingredient. Often used for the chemical composition of a product or the individual elements that make up a whole. +
-  * [[木材]] (mùcái) - Timber, wood. A very specific type of physical **材料**.+